Crush
by wideopeneyes
Summary: Rikku admits the existance of a certain sphere betraying her childhood feelings for Gippal, who, predictably, asks to see it.


"You're going to get it, you jerk. Just you wait!"

"Temper, temper," he teased, wagging a finger in front of her face. "I can't have you screaming your head off, now."

"I have not yet begun to – mmmph!" Her tirade was cut off abruptly as he shoved a bit of fabric in her mouth and knotted a cloth around the back of her head. Her eyes promised retribution, and he chuckled, kissing her forehead as he shrugged into a shirt. She wiggled, working at the soft cord tied securely around her wrists. He knew how to work a knot, and the bonds held.

"You'll have to do better than that," he said. It amused him to see her wriggling around on his bed in her yellow silk pajamas, bound and gagged, but still with a fiery determination to exact her revenge. He knew she'd escape; he'd taught her everything she knew. But not, he thought with a snicker, everything _he _knew. He ruffled her hair affectionately as he took a seat on the bed beside her. She ignored him, working on freeing herself from her bonds.

"I'm definitely gonna get that sphere first," he said. "But I'll tell you what. If, by some miracle, you manage to beat me to it, I'll let _you _tie _me _up." Her head jerked up as he said it, surprised. He laughed, tilting her chin up to kiss her cheek. "I'll leave you some water. You'll be thirsty when you break free. But just in case, I'll tell someone to check on you in an hour or so."

He slipped his gun belt on and tugged her brightly colored scarf off the back of a chair, tucking it around his neck. "Mind if I borrow your scarf today, for luck?" He gleefully listened to her muffled shouts. "I didn't think you would. It's cold on Gagazet. Having a scarf might come in handy, so thanks." He fluttered his fingers mockingly at her as he headed for the door. "See you later, baby. Have fun!

- -

It took some work, but she eventually managed to slip the rope. He'd tied it tightly enough that it gave her some trouble, but not tightly enough to hurt her in the process of escaping it. Impatiently, she tugged off the gag, spitting out the bit of cloth in disgust. Her mouth was dry; she didn't want to be grateful that he'd left her a large glass of water, but she was nonetheless as she gulped it down.

"I'll kill him." She tugged off her pajama top. "And then I'll resuscitate him and kill him again." She jerked on a pair of pants and a heavy shirt, then filched a jacket from his closet – Gagazet _was _going to be cold, and he'd stolen her scarf. "Maybe I'll kill him again, just for the hell of it."

Luckily, she knew a few things he didn't know just yet. With luck, she'd come out the winner in his little game. 

_Two days prior_

"You did _not _have a crush on me."

"I did," she giggled. "I really did. It was stupid, I was just a kid. And you wouldn't have anything to do with me. Oh, I was so mad! You and my brother were thick as thieves, and you were always telling me _no girls allowed_, and if I hadn't had such a wild crush on you, I'd probably have bashed your skull in for it."

He believed her. "So tell me. What made you fall for me? Was it my dashing good looks?"

"Please," she snorted. "You were ten. You had that awful haircut. And you carried that lame toy claw around with you everywhere."

"It wasn't lame! It was…it was _classic_. A girl could never understand." He nodded resolutely.

"Because it was _dorky_," she insisted. "But I liked you anyway, god knows why."

"Well, I _am_ awesome," he said. "I could see you having a crush on me. It would explain why you tagged along after us all the time. So what did poor little nine-year-old Rikku do about this unrequited love of hers?"

"_Unrequited_?" Her tone was decidedly frosty.

"_Then, then_," he assured her. "Back then, when I thought girls were icky." His arms contracted around her. "Now it's requited. Definitely requited."

"Good." She smiled, turning a little in his arms to receive a kiss.

"So what'd you do?"

"Nothing. What could I do? I was _nine_." Suddenly a flush darkened her cheeks, and she offered shyly, "Well…I _did _confess my feelings to a sphere, which I eventually hid, just in case anyone ever got to snooping."

"Awww." He was touched, delighted with the thought of her childish declaration of love. "So, can I see it?"

"What? No!" Her blush deepened. "No, absolutely not!"

"Come _on_," he coaxed. "Please?" He thrust out his lower lip in a pout.

"I don't even have it anymore," she said. "I told you, I hid it."

"Where'd you hide it?" His fingers tickled her sides, startling her into laughter. "Come on, tell me!"

"Somewhere on Gagazet," she gasped out, "and that's all you're getting!" She darted away, sticking her tongue out at him impishly. But she didn't hold out much hope that that would be the end of it. 

_The Present_

Gippal trudged up the snowy peak, headed in the general direction of the sphere. Fortunately, the sphere oscillo-finder wasn't picking up more than one signal. He had a good fix on it, and he was quickly covering ground. He was going to find her little movie-sphere and go all gooey over little Rikku declaring her love for him. He was lucky – lucky that she'd never changed her mind about him, that she'd known exactly what she wanted from such an early age, that she'd worked her way into his heart and into his life.

He stopped in confusion. He was right on top of it, according to the sphere oscillo-finder. He took a few steps forward, watching the little blinking light move in response. Now he'd passed it. Had she buried it? Was he really going to have to dig to get to it? Probably he should've tied her up better. Surely she'd be along soon, and _then_ where would he be? Without a sphere, that was where.

"Looking for this?"

He turned, momentarily surprised. She wore his clothes and a smug smile, and she held aloft a bright, gleaming sphere.

_One day prior_

He was up to something, she _knew _he was. And so she felt justified in sneaking into his workshop and tampering with his equipment. She wasn't doing irreparable harm; just tweaking things enough to slow him up should he be thinking of attempting what she was fairly certain he was considering. All she'd need would be enough time to throw him off the track, enough time to retrieve the sphere herself. If he went missing for any length of time, she'd know exactly where he was headed, and with luck, she'd be able to get there first.

Snickering, she carefully replaced all the tools she'd used, meticulously arranging the workshop exactly as she'd found it. It wouldn't do to have him suspecting that _she _suspected _him _of something.

_The Present_

"You stole my clothes!" He accused.

"You stole my scarf," she returned. "_And_ you tied me up."

"Well, you stole my sphere." He crossed his arms, frowning. "How'd you do it?"

"Recalibrated your oscillo-finder last night," she said. "I _figured_ you were up to something." She tossed the sphere up, catching it neatly. He wondered if he could get it away from her if he rushed her. Probably she'd drop it, and he certainly didn't want to break it.

"Anyway," she continued. "It's _my_ sphere."

"You made it for me, didn't you? Even if you never gave it to me, you made it for me. It's _my_ sphere." He held out his hand. "I want to see it. Please, Rikku?"

She wavered. Yes, it was a little embarrassing, a silly little thing she had done in her childhood that she didn't really _want_ to share with anyone. But he wasn't anyone. He was _Gippal_. She was _supposed_ to share things with him. Even if they were embarrassing. Just because it would make him happy.

Hesitantly, she handed over the sphere. "Don't laugh," she said. His smile was brilliant and immediate. He pulled her into his arms, holding her so tightly she almost couldn't breathe.

"I love you," he said consolingly. "I would never laugh at you. Ever. Not even at little nine-year-old you confessing her love for little ten-year-old me." He tucked the sphere safely in his pocket. "Let's go home, kid. We'll watch it together, okay?"

- -

Later, when they were both cuddled together in bed, and he had her wrapped securely up in his arms, he reached for the sphere.

Together they watched as young Rikku scowled at the sphere recorder.

"Gippal, listen up!" Little Rikku put her hands on her waist. "I love you, okay? Even though you're just a dumb _boy_." She huffed her irritation. "_And_ you never let me play with you guys." She ran her fingers through her short blonde hair. "And even though sometimes you make me really mad, I still love you! And one day...one day, when we're grown-ups, we're gonna get married!" She nodded firmly, completely certain of herself. "And that's all." Finally she smiled, and she reached to shut off the sphere recorder. The sphere went black.

Rikku covered her face with her hands. "That was so _embarrassing_," she whined. He tugged her hands away, kissing her bright red cheeks.

"_I_ thought it was adorable," he said. "Thanks for showing me, baby. I'll treasure it forever. I'll watch it every Tuesday night. You know, I bet Yuna would _love_ to see what you looked like as a kid."

"You wouldn't!"

"No, I wouldn't," he agreed pleasantly, laughing as she shoved him backwards. "You're just so fun to tease."

"You'd better watch it," she leaned over him, grinning. "I seem to remember that _someone_ promised that if _I_ got to the sphere first, I could tie him up."

"Hey, uh, Rikku? Did I ever tell you how much I love you? Because I do. A lot. Really. A lot, a lot." He slid slowly towards the edge of the bed. She reached for the cording he'd tied her up with, cording she'd left mostly intact for _his_ turn.

"That's not going to save you this time," she announced.

"Well, then." He jumped up, headed for the door. "You'll still have to catch me, first!"

She wasn't worried. She knew he'd let her catch him eventually.

And, of course, there was the little fact that she'd booby-trapped the stairs.


End file.
